Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Here's hoping for some Justice

My life is one that is never boring. Below is the current trial i am invloved in, i have a child witness of 14 giving evidence tomorrow. This young girl has seen things no one should ever have to see, especially at such a tender age. Her mother and father are also giving evidence tomorrow. This is just a brief write up that was in today's paper.

Mitarsha O'Neill, of Maroochydore, cried as she told how she pleaded for her life and that of her unborn child when a cord was pulled around her neck by two men looking for Sunshine Coast man Kerrie Palmer, while another two men watched.

Kerrie Edward Palmer, 20, of the Sunshine Coast, was murdered and his body found buried in sand dunes at Mudjimba Beach in late January 2003.

Adam Troy Bargenquast, 31, Wade Anthony Davis, 24, and Mark William Holmes, 46, have pleaded not guilty to six charges including assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, deprivation of liberty and murder.

Jon David Farthing, 34, pleaded not guilty to five charges and guilty to deprivation of liberty.

It has been alleged Kerrie Palmer was murdered after stealing $3500 he was given by Farthing to buy cannabis for Holmes, who later recruited three friends to find Palmer and his money.

The court heard Palmer was assaulted with various weapons and had a concrete block dropped on to his head, before he was wrapped in a blanket, covered in lime and buried in sand dunes.

The body was buried at Mudjimba Beach and several shovels dumped at Forest Glen, where they were found by police.

Yesterday, Ms O'Neill told the court she had introduced Palmer, who she had known for about six months, to Farthing and his fiance Chantel Conroy a few days before he went missing and later helped the couple look for Palmer around Nambour.

She said that about 3am that night, Conroy called and asked her to come to her house but soon after arriving, she was confronted by three strangers who demanded to know where Palmer was and accused her of lying when she said she didn't know.

O'Neill said a man called Stretch, who she later identified to police as Holmes, put a one-metre length of cord around her neck and repeatedly asked where Palmer was.

"I gave them my money, I wanted my life and my child's life," O'Neill said. "It was only $150 but it was all I had. Stretch told me they were going to take me out into the bush, hang me up and no one would find me ever again."

O'Neill said Farthing and a third man, identified by Conroy as Davis, were present but did not participate in the actual assault, and that Farthing and Conroy later left during the attack.

Earlier Conroy had testified she was told by Holmes to lure O'Neill to her house with a story about a prowler but did not know they intended to hurt her, only to question her about where Palmer might be hiding.

Conroy, who has a son with Farthing, said she was scared and spent a week at a hotel, but Farthing had only told her that Palmer "had got away".

She said when she confronted him about newspaper reports, he told her Palmer had been hit over the head with an axe handle and a besser block had been dropped on his head by the other men, and he wanted to surrender to police.